Yesterday a whole bunch of us went to watch the Chicago Wolves play the Milwaukee Admirals. I haven’t been to a game in a while, and it was fun to go. We had a lot of first timers with us - my aunt, my dad, Fatima, Marian and Marlon. They had a great time, which was made even better due to the fact that our team won! It was nice to hear my dad cheering and having a good time. He needs it!

We found the mascot ‘Skates’ in the lobby and got our picture taken with him. His handlers seemed overjoyed at the fact that Marian and Fatima were hockey virgins. They couldn’t stop saying it. And when we took our picture with Skates, he was rubbing Marian on the shoulder. Bad Touch, Skates! But it was a good laugh…

Today, we go and drink cheap beers with the cousins.

Tags: Daily by Yano
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I got this from Fata’s page….I’m lounging at home doing nothing, so I thought I’d waste some time answering these questions…

I’d like to call it…
Your Personal Guide to Stalking Me

Essentials…

1. Name: Christine Feliciano Estacio
2. Birthday: 05/27 and I seem to have forgotten the year
3. Piercings: One in each ear
4. Tattoos: Tattoo free
5. Height: 5′3″. OK. 5′2 and 3/4″
6. Shoe size: 8
7. Hair color: Dark dark brown
8. Hair Length: a short angled bob
9. Pets: Luscious the rabbit and Ewok the dog
10. In the morning I am: Not wanting to wake up
11. All I need: is love
12. Love is: returned when you give it
13. If I could see one person right now: my mom.
14. I’m afraid of: being alone
15. I dream about: long movie type dreams that linger and haunt me throughout the day

Last…
1. Movie you rented: Ghost World
2. Movie you bought: it will be Whale Rider
3. Song you listened to: The end theme to the Two Towers (I just watched it)
4. Song you had stuck in your head: ‘Bad Boys’ from Cops
5. Song you’ve downloaded: Download? What’s that? Uh, “Seven Nation Army” but the White Stripes
6. Person you’ve called: Marlon
7. Person that called you: Claudine
8. TV shows you’ve watched: Mutant X…the TV was on…
9. Person you were thinking of: Dave!

Do…
1. You have a B/F or G/F? No. I have a husband.
2. You have a crush on someone? Yes. My husband. And Mark Wahlberg.
3. You wish you could live somewhere else? Not really
4. You think about suicide? I have…
5. You believe in online dating? Yes. It’s been quite successful for some people I know.
6. Others find you attractive? Maybe. It would be nice.
7. You want more piercings? Yeah, I’ve thought of it.
8. You want more tattoos? Nah…

For or against…
1. Long distance relationships: Worked for me!
2. Using someone: Hmm…I’m torn on that one. I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t used someone. It depends on how. *wink*
3. Suicide: Against.
4. Killing people: That’s another tough one. I can’t say against, because the death penalty comes to mind. So lets just say, when a person’s time comes, it comes.
5. Doing drugs: It’s your body, go ahead and mess it up as you wish.
6. Driving drunk: Against, but once again, I admit to doing it in the past.

Favorite…
1. Food? Sushi, Tiramisu
2. Song? all time fave, On Bended Knee by Boys to Men
3. Thing to do? Sleep
4. Thing to talk about? Comic Books, Short Track
5. Sports? Love to play and watch football, and I like to watch speedskating
6. Drinks? Boba Shakes, Jack and Coke, Iced White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks
7. Clothes? Out: Jeans and a baby tee. In: Pajama pants and a T-shirt
8. Movies? The Princess Bride, Contact, Pulp Fiction
9. Bands? Barenaked Ladies, Outkast
10. Holiday? Halloween, Christmas
11. Car? My Honda CRV
12. Ever cried over a girl/boy? Yeah.
13. Ever lied to someone? Yes.
14. Ever been in a fight or arrested? Uh, not that I recall…

What…
1. Shampoo do you use? Garnier Fructris
2. Perfume/Cologne? JLo’s Glow, Prescriptive’s Calyx, Estee Lauder’s Pleasures
3. Number of times I have had my heart broken? Once, but I got over it, quickly
4. Number of hearts I have broken? Let’s not go into numbers here…
5. a. Number of guys I have kissed? Intentionally? Because there have been a number of accidental kisses in there. Nonetheless…I plead the fifth on this one.
5. b. Number of guys I have kissed in the last three days: Zip. My hubby is back in da LBC and I’m in Chicago. No kissy kissy for me.
6. Number of drugs taken illegally? At least one…
7. Number of people I would classify as true, could trust with my life type friends? There’s a lot. I hope if the time ever comes I’m not proven wrong.
8. Number of people I consider my enemies? Um…At the present time, I can count 4 people that I believe don’t care too much for me. There are possibly many more.
9. Number of people from high school that I stayed in contact with: Enough to count on one hand.
10. Number of CDs? Damn. Who’s got time to count?
11. Number of scars on my body? I scar easily due to a lack of vitamins. There are many. Are we counting the scars on my heart? Hardee har har…
12. Number of things in my past that I regret? Ack…Let’s not even start!

With the opposite sex:
1. What do you notice first? Smile, then ass.
2. Worst thing to say? You’re like a brother to me, dude!

Who:
1. Makes you laugh the most? Dave
2. Makes you smile? My cousins
3. Gives you a funny feeling when you see them? The police
4. Has a crush on you? Um…I dunno…and even if I did, I’m not naming names!
5. Easiest to talk to? Jaygee

Have you ever:
1. Sat on the Internet all day waiting for someone special to I.M. you? Not waiting for someone to IM me, but I have sat on the internet all day.
2. Saved AOL/AIM conversations? Yes. The FBI might need it someday. Though saving conversations can also be a BAD thing. Very bad!!!
3. Cried because of someone saying something to you? Of course.
4. Fallen for your best friend? Yeah, I guess so…
5. Rejected someone? Yeah. But I’d like to say I’ve got that down to an art.
7. Been cheated on? Hmm…yeah

Who was the last person:
1. You talked to? Fatima. She’s in my room
2. Hugged? Marian before she left yesterday
3. You instant messaged? Dan
4. You laughed with? Fatima

Do you:
1. Color your hair? Not anymore. I should be at 100% natural hair color by now.
2. Ever get off the darn computer? When Dave the Slavedriver makes me do chores. Yes. 3. Hablas espanol? un poco.

Have you/ Are you/ Do you:
1. Obsessive: At times, yes
2. Could you live without the computer? I shudder tihnking of such a question
3. Like watching sunrises or sunset? Sunsets,yes
4. What hurts the most, physical pain or emotional pain? Emotional

Final Questions:
1. I want: Peace of mind
2. I wish: for more wishes
3. I love: life
4. I miss: my mom
5. I fear: being disliked
6. I hear: the clicking of the keyboard
7. I wonder: who wrote the book of love
8. I am: me!
9. I will: be better

Tags: Tests by Yano
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Well, we got through Christmas in one piece. It wasn’t as bad as I was thinking it was going to be. Fortunately, we were all together with our aunts, uncles and cousins, so it made it a lot easier.

I spent the first part of Christmas with Dave’s family, though I was reluctant to leave my own. After hanging out at his family Christmas party, Dave’s parents, his brother and girlfriend, and Dave and I headed out to my family party, which was already in full swing.

We all went to midnight mass together, taking up about 5 rows. All the Polish people at church were probably like ‘Oh, look at all the Filipino people! Must be the Feliciano’s or their neighbor’s hosting Christmas again.’ Church was pretty difficult, since there’s a lot of thinking time. I was getting through the holiday pretty successfully by constantly moving and constantly talking and cracking jokes. At church, I could do neither. So it took a lot of willpower not to sit there and think about my mom not being there. When that happened, I could feel a black abyss of despair opening up and a wave of emotion gripping me. It was hard not to fall in!

After church we went back to open presents. It’s our first Christmas together, and it was interesting to see how many ‘Dave and Christine’ presents we got. We got a nice platter, the Two Towers DVD, and a lot of other cool things. Opening the presents was fun, and felt so normal. It was nice. Afterwards, we just hung out and played cards. Well, I fell asleep on the couch, but I could hear everyone else playing cards. I slumbered while listening to the laughter of my sister and cousins. (Because of course, Claudine was the first to fall asleep)

Christmas day, I woke up and ate lunch, then we all headed over to the cemetary. I think that was the hardest of all for all of us. But we got through it. I talked a little to my mom in my head, telling her I missed her and that it just wasn’t the same without her. My aunts said things like ‘I miss you Cris!’ or ‘Merry Christmas, Cris!’ I know that they felt her absence from our holiday, too.

Then we went to go and watch ‘Lord of the Rings’, to catch the matinee. We usually go to see a movie on Christmas day. But this year, for some reason, the theater was PACKED! The movie was actually sold out and we had to come back later to watch the movie. What are people doing watching movies on Christmas day? Don’t you have lives? *snicker* We enjoyed the movie, and couldn’t help snickering with all of the loving hobbit parts. You know what I’m talking about.

So it wasn’t that bad. It was great, but it wasn’t horrible. I’m glad it’s over, but I’m also glad that we were able to spend it with family and people who love us, they made a hard day a little easier.

Here’s some pics….enjoy!!!

Me and Dave

Us reindeer gotta stick together!

The Girl Cousins

Opening Presents

Tags: Daily by Yano
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It’s 1:30, and I just woke up from a night of eating, gift opening, and games that I did not partake in because I feel asleep on the couch.

Merry Christmas!

And off to eat again I go!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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At work, got a lot of work to do…but as soon as I get it done, I’m just going to sit here and surf away!

Here’s a little something to spread some Christmas Cheer to you…

If you don’t come here before Christmas, happy holidays to you!

Carol of the Burgers
It’s so wrong it’s right!

Tags: Cool Link by Yano
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So I’m back in the office in Chicago. I’ve really missed most of these people! It’s nice to work with people again, people I know and love and miss terribly. My main goal today is to take the crap off my old laptop and put it on “Speedy”, my new work laptop. There’s a lot of crap to move, so it should take all day. And really, it’s the only work I feel like doing, though all of my expenses (I’m behind about 3 months) are due tomorrow.

Then again, it doesn’t help that the whole lot of us went to Rock Bottom for lunch today. A lot of people are on vacation for the holidays, so a bunch of us that are left over went to lunch, leaving about 3 people left at the office. It was nice to go to lunch and talk and laugh and drink and laugh. A couple ex-coworkers came, too, and it was great to see them. I’m so happy that we haven’t lost touch with them, even though we’ve gone our seperate ways.

So anyway, I’ve had a bit to drink, which is what often happens at these lunch soirees. My tolerance is definitely lower than it used to be! But that’s ok, I had a good time with good friends. Tonight I have to do some mad Christmas shopping. I haven’t done any and I’m way behind!

But to tell the truth, I don’t really feel much of the Christmas spirit. It’s sad, because it’s one of my favorite holidays, but it’s just not the same. Everyone told me that it’s going to be hard, and it is. We have a tree up, but haven’t bothered to turn on the lights. The only presents under our Christmas tree are from Dan. We really don’t want to do anything for Christmas. I just want it to pass. When I hear Christmas songs on the radio, I change the channel, and I have to keep moving and doing things just so I don’t sit here and dwell on how hard it’s going to be on my whole family this Christmastime.

*sigh*

Tags: Daily by Yano
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That’s what I did today, and I was so exhausted when I left my client site at 8:30 that I was just about ready to cry. It was a long day’s work, and I had a LONG night. My flight left LA at 8, and a 2 hour layover in Vegas, then got to Chicago at around 5:30am. By the time I got home it was around 6:30, which didn’t leave me much time for a catnap.

Then I went to my client site, and this gig was thrown together really fast, and I had only a vague idea of what I was supposed to be doing there. Then I realized I had also been sent there as a sacrifical lamb, once again. Sent there to show the client that my company cares enough to send a consultant out there to sit and listen to their complaints and be their punching bag for a day. It’s pretty tough to sit there and listen to someone talk about detailed issues with our product after only having an hour of sleep.

Oh, and here’s a fun little story that you can laugh at.

So I was going to go get some sushi for lunch (but of course, it was closed today) so I was walking out to my dad’s car. I’m using his car because mine is in California. So I get to my car and try to unlock the door. But the key isn’t working. It’s kinda cold, but I don’t see any ice on the car. So I try the key again. No can do, it won’t turn in the lock. It doesn’t even fit in the door all the way. I’m starting to get a little worried.

Then I realize that I was using my car keys, rather than my dad’s. Duh.

Yes, laugh. Laugh away!

So I’m grumpy! I’m rarely grumpy and irritable, but I am today! I was planning on doing some Christmas shopping today, but didn’t get the chance. Hmph!

Bah Humbug!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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Finishing up packing and going to go for my plane ride back home to Chicago! As soon as I’m off the plane (tomorrow - I’ve got a stopover in Las Vegas and I get in tomorrow morning) I’m heading straigh to a client site. No rest for me!

Anyway, to tide you over until then, here’s a picture that you can laugh at, at my expense. It’s not the mythical afro picture, but it’s bad enough!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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One of the major setbacks of living in California, and Dave can be the first one to complain about this, is not the traffic. It’s that we don’t get Chicago sports here. So around this time of year, we don’t get to see any Bears’ games, which you guys know, I love to watch. And the one this week is extra important, because my dad is out there watching, and it’s his very first Bears’ game ever, but he’s always been a Bears fan, always watched the games whenever they’ve been on. He’s never been to Soldier Field before, and I’m sure he’s out there, camera in hand (it’s genetic, you know) snapping away, freezing his fingers off, and having the time of his life, whether the team wins or loses. I’m really happy he’s there, its something that he really needs right now. Thank god for angels with red hair with Bears tickets!

So I’m sitting here, watching Billiards on ESPN. Not that I’m complaining, because one of my sports idols, Jeanette Lee, is commentating. She is awesome, and the game is even better to watch with her doing the play by play. This woman knows the game. She knows the mindset of the players and she knows the shots these women are going to go for, and she speaks with someone who has a passion for the game. And I love the giggle of glee she gets when someone makes a good shot, because it echoes my giggle of glee at home.

OK. I should be packing!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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Just got back from Seattle. Really tired, so I’m going to post something that I had written earlier this week…

Things are still really tough for me. I kinda stopped doing the ‘Thank You’ emails because it was taking too much out of me. This holiday season is really tough, in a way, I don’t want Christmas to come because I can’t bear having a Christmas without my mom. When I head Christmas songs on the radio, I change the channel. Everytime I think of Christmas, I get teary eyed, knowing that my mom won’t be in our annual family picture. It’s so hard! I can’t wait to go home for Christmas, to be with my family again, but then again, I don’t know if I can be strong enough to get through it without breaking down.

I was looking at my cousin’s blogs the other day, looking back at the days after my mom’s death, and it was so touching to see the beautiful things that they wrote about my mom. For a long time I’ve been wanting to publish them here, but I never had the time…But here they are, it may get pretty long, but you don’t have to read them.

I said it once, and I’ll say it again, I don’t know what I would do without these wonderful people in my life…

This is from Melanie:

But she was able to read it aloud, and it was wonderful…

From Marilyn:

Whoo! Someone pass me some tissue!

Tags: Daily by Yano
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